Equip Your Nonprofit Team on Relational Fundraising
Nobody wants to admit this, but...
Too many fundraisers THINK they’re doing relational work. But, they kinda aren’t.
Honestly, I see signs of this every day…
❌Major-donor ‘asks’ occurring at events vs. in one-on-one meetings
❌Individual donors asked to sponsor events instead of give to the mission
❌Family Foundation relationship-building centered around reports and renewals
❌Event sponsorships are the go-to for corporate giving
I’m sorry. I don’t mean to sound harsh but I find there’s an entirely next level of relational fundraising work that too many simply didn’t know exists.
Before you come at me…Yes, some fundraisers know what true relational fundraising exists, but are often stuck in event and appeal land that they inherited.
In all honestly, too many have just never seen proper, relational sales work in action. And because of this….fundraisers:
🔴Avoid one-on-one donor meetings (What would I even say?)
🔴Are disappointed when a site-visit doesn't speak for itself (What was I supposed to do after the visit?)
🔴Lean on salesy emails, gold/silver/bronze packages, and applications (I don’t think donors want to meet with me.)
🔴Prioritize fundraising activities you can do from the comfort of your desk and email account (We’re so busy, I just can’t think of adding a meeting to my plate!)
Last thing I’ll add here….
99% of Executive Directors subject-matter experts in something else other than fundraising….99% of fundraisers kinda found themselves in their role. (I made up those percentages, but you get my drift.)
So, everyone’s kinda guessing when it comes to relational fundraising. It’s a buzz word in our sector.
It’s time to drill down to what it REALLY means. And equip your team to start doing relational fundraising properly. When my clients do this, they are always shocked by how much money was just sitting there on the table.
How about you? Are you wondering if your team THINKS they're doing relational fundraising, but really aren't? I find this to be true more often than not. If this is you, just apply to work with me here.
Read more at my Forbes Nonprofit Council article, “Relational Fundraising: What It Is And How To Improve Your Efforts”.
Whenever you’re ready to switch to high-ROI fundraising, there are THREE things you can do next:
👣 Follow me on LinkedIn where I share insider fundraising info daily — the same lessons I teach my clients through my consultancy about securing larger major gifts and diversifying revenue.
🍎 Get Resources + White Papers — download robust resources you can use to push against the nonprofits sector’s scarcity mindset, equip your board, and shift your entire team into high-ROI fundraising.
📈 Work with me to fully-fund your nonprofit organization’s strategic plan and aspirational budget. If you’re a business-minded nonprofit CEO or Executive Director with big growth plans but need to make charitable revenue from relational donors a bigger part of your budget, you can apply to work with me here.
